It�s always a pleasure to come to California[and the L.A. Auto
Show]� and that�s especially true this year, since I have the
great privilege of helping the Motor Press Guild kick off �press
week.�

I also want to recognize the L.A. Show organizers for putting together
another great event. So, congratulations Aaron, Dave McCurdy, Matt Stone,
the local dealer associations, and everyone involved in this year�s
show.

* * * * * * *

Well, it certainly has been an extraordinary year � for those of
us in the auto industry, and those of you who cover us.

At GM, it�s almost hard to imagine the transformation
we�ve undergone this past year. And while we still have a long way
to go, it�s fair to say we have a much better foundation for success
than perhaps anyone could have imagined this time last year.

Today, we have a much healthier balance sheet, with significantly less
debt. We�ve slashed our operating and labor costs. We�re
creating a leaner, stronger dealer network. We�re positioned to be
profitable in anything close to a normal automotive sales market. And
we�ll begin to repay our government loans sooner than expected,
starting this month.

Equally important, we�re going to market in North America with
just four brands � Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac � and
next year, just 34 nameplates, down from 48 last year.

One key to our success is developing those four brands� We must
make people more aware of them and what they mean. Which reminds me of a
quick story�

A few years ago, a giant multinational corporation decided to buy up
dozens of cattle ranches out West. They planned to make a tidy sum on
livestock operations, and to make a killing on the oil and mineral rights
that came with the ranches.

When the company's lawyers couldn't agree on what to call the new
corporation, they decided to incorporate the names of all the ranches they
had purchased: trademarks like Circle J, Lazy M, Dancing K, the Flying Q
Ranch, Rocking Horse T, and so on.

They had a high-priced designer bundle all the names together in a
corporate trademark, and incorporated the new company in Delaware.

At the company's first annual meeting, the Chairman reported that the
entire acquisition had been a big success -- with one exception. The
ranching operations were a total loss. All the cattle were dead.

"What happened?" asked a stunned stockholder. "Was it a plague?"

"Were they poisoned?�

"Neither," replied the Chairman. "They didn't survive the branding."

And the moral of that story is, of course, if you don�t know how
to handle your brands, you�re dead.

Our May The Best Car Win campaign is all about promoting the four
individual brands, and their specific products.

This emphasis on fewer, better entries is enabling us to devote more
engineering and marketing resources to each model � products like
the Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox, Buick LaCrosse, GMC Terrain, and Cadillac
SRX and CTS Sport Wagon.

You see it in the products we�re launching around the world
� cars like the Opel Astra in Europe, Daewoo Matiz Creative in Asia
Pacific, and Chevrolet Agile in Latin America.

And you�ll see it in the products we launch in the U.S. next year
� cars like the Cadillac CTS Coupe, Buick Regal, Chevrolet Cruze,
and the revolutionary Chevrolet Volt.

I hasten to add that a key part of our business strategy is an
unprecedented focus on green technology � a strategy we first
announced here at the L.A. Show just a few years ago. Since then,
we�ve come a long way in the energy and environmental areas. Now, in
the past year, we�ve ramped up our focus even more.

At GM, we believe that in an energy-constrained world marked by dramatic
growth in developing markets, it is critical that the global auto industry
� as a business necessity and an obligation to society �
develop alternative sources of propulsion, based on diverse sources of
energy, to meet the world�s rapidly growing demand for our
products.

That�s exactly what we�re doing at GM, and what I�d
like to spend the rest of my time talking about this morning.

* * * * * * *

As we look at the global energy and environmental picture today and
consider the future of the automobile, one fact stands out above all others
� going forward, the auto industry can no longer rely on oil to
supply 98 percent of world�s automotive energy requirements .

This matter gets plenty of attention here in California, but it�s
a global issue. Take GM�s recent experience.

In September, we signed an agreement with Reva Electric Car Company to
cooperate in the development of small car platform based electric vehicles
for India. Our goal is to jointly develop, with Reva, EV technology, and
advanced vehicle control systems. We�re also working closely with
the government of India to develop an electric vehicle infrastructure. In
Shanghai this summer, we opened our new China Science Lab to perform
research in several automotive fields. Our research will help advance the
work we�re already doing with our Chinese joint venture partner,
SAIC; China�s prestigious Tsinghua University; and others to move
China away from its reliance on petroleum. In Brazil this year, we opened a
new technology center to focus, in part, on development of ethanol-based
FlexFuel vehicles, in which Brazil and Chevrolet are the world leaders. And
in Washington this summer, we joined other OEMs in endorsing a single
national standard to control greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy in
the United States. This was a major breakthrough � one that, in most
years, would have been one of the top two or three automotive stories of
the year. A single standard helps OEMs improve our planning and
manufacturing efficiency, and develop future product plans with greater
consistency and certainty. More importantly, a single standard benefits
consumers by getting cleaner, more efficient vehicles on the road quicker
and more affordably. The new standards are tough but fair, and we at GM are
fully committed to meeting or exceeding them and all future requirements in
this area. * * * * * * *

These examples show how widespread the focus on energy and environmental
issues has become. They also illustrate the enormous opportunity that we,
as an industry, have to influence them.

Around the globe, there are a number of very promising solutions to the
energy and environmental challenges we all face. At GM, we�re
working on most of them � things like:

improvements to the internal combustion engine; broad-scale application
of hybrid technology; development of advanced biofuels like cellulosic,
non-food-based ethanol; and further into the future, hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell we�ve been testing
with customers in California and elsewhere for the last two years. But the
technology that generates the most interest here in California and around
the world � and one we�re working very hard to bring to
market a year from now � is electrically driven vehicles like our
Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.

This still surprises some people, who continue to think of GM as the
company that �killed the electric car.� Well, movie titles to
the contrary, the electric car is far from dead at GM. And my friend, the
filmmaker Chris Paine, would be the first to tell you that.

The truth, of course, is that we have significantly expanded our
commitment to electrically-driven vehicles at GM, and are now in the midst
of an extraordinary transformation.

GM is moving from a company that, for 100 years, has been based on
mechanically driven automobiles, to one that will eventually be focused on
electrically driven vehicles. This is a big deal.

The Volt is powered by our exclusive Voltec electric propulsion system.
When running off its battery, the Volt operates as a traditional
battery-electric vehicle. In this mode, it has a gas-free range of up to 40
miles � which is more than the average daily commute for
three-quarters of Americans.

And when the driver of a Volt needs to go farther, the car�s
engine-generator kicks in, seamlessly, to produce enough electricity to
power it for another 300 miles. The engine-generator eliminates the
�range anxiety� of electric-only vehicles � the fear
of being stranded by a depleted battery.

* * * * * * *

Now, the key to getting the Volt and other electrically driven vehicles
into the hands of consumers is advanced lithium-ion battery technology.

Three years ago, we set out to develop a battery that some said
couldn�t be built. Well, we went to work with some of the best
battery-cell manufacturers and battery-pack integrators in the world. And
after countless hours of research and testing, we�re very confident
we have a battery pack that delivers the required power, range, safety, and
durability that customers will demand.

In the process, we determined that the design, development, and
production of advanced batteries must be a core competency for GM�
and so we�ve been building our capability and resources to support
this direction.

Last January, we announced the selection of LG Chem to supply
lithium-ion battery cells; we signed a joint engineering development
contract with Compact Power and LG Chem; and we joined with the University
of Michigan to create a new advanced battery lab in Ann Arbor, along with
specialized curriculum to develop battery engineers.

In June, we dedicated a new GM battery lab � the most
technologically advanced battery test facility in the U.S.

And four months ago, in Michigan, we announced the world�s first
OEM-owned, high-volume lithium-ion battery pack plant. We�re moving
fast, and I�m happy to report that battery-pack production will
begin early next month.

* * * * * * *

And our interest extends well beyond batteries. We also determined that
the design, development, and production of electric motors and power
electronics need to be core competencies for GM � and we�re
moving in those directions, too.

And it�s not just GM. The ripples keep expanding.

In 2006, I can think of only one company that was openly planning to
build an electric vehicle [Tesla]. Now, just about every car company in the
business is planning one � including several companies that
weren�t on the radar in 2006, like Fisker and Coda.

And the ripples extend well beyond the OEMs. EV development is creating
entire new industries � an ecosystem of battery developers and
recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, power control
and electric motor suppliers, and so on.

Needless to say, this electric-vehicle ecosystem is creating new jobs
here in the U.S. � green jobs. GM�s lithium-ion battery
plant, for example, will provide more than 100 advanced technology jobs. LG
Chem, the company we selected to supply lithium-ion battery cells, has
announced plans to manufacture cells in the U.S. More U.S. jobs. And
that�s just the beginning.

As demand for electric vehicles grows, competition will drive further
innovation, the ecosystem will continue to diversify, costs will decline,
vehicle sales will climb� and the ripples will continue to
expand.

So, while there are huge challenges confronting the industry in the
energy and environmental area, there are huge opportunities as well.

In our case, the launch of the new GM last summer provided an
unprecedented opportunity to re-energize our advanced propulsion
strategy� and to drive the company toward a dramatically greener
future. We�re doing that, and introduction of the Volt next year
will be a huge step in that direction.

Initially, as we ramp up production, we�ll offer the Volt to
customers on a market-by-market basis. And because anticipation for the
vehicle is building all over the country, where we initially sell the Volt
has become the subject of considerable interest.

We were thrilled this week to confirm that, by the end of next year, the
Chevrolet Volt will first be available here in California� along
with other lead markets that we�ll announce in a few weeks.

California has long been a leader in environmental change, and we at GM
are very excited to offer the Volt�s unique technology to consumers
who have demonstrated a keen interest in putting it to use.

Today, I�m also very pleased to announce new partnerships with
three California utilities � Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern
California Edison, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District �
and EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, an independent non-profit
research organization based in Palo Alto.

Together, these four organizations will participate in a vast new
program led by GM, with a matching grant of over $30 million from the U.S.
Department of Energy, to advance the electrification of the automobile.

As part of the program, GM will deliver more than 100 Chevrolet Volts to
the program participants to use in their fleets for two years, starting in
early 2011.

This extended, real-world study will help us make electric vehicles as
good as they can be for our EV customers. We�ll collect vehicle
performance data through our OnStar system, gather driver feedback, and
report our findings to the DOE.

We�ll also work with the utilities to further explore the
infrastructure of automotive electrification, including the installation of
more than 500 charging stations.

Overall, this new program will help determine the best methods to
accommodate an expanding fleet of electric vehicles, from all OEMs.

* * * * * * *

In closing, let me reiterate that the huge challenges confronting us in
the energy and environmental area� are also huge opportunities for
driving positive societal change.

I have no doubt that, years from now, we�ll look back at this
period as a time of great progress � the �tipping
point� that enabled the age of electrically driven vehicles. It will
be every bit as momentous as the transition from horses to horsepower.